This painting is a
clustering of my adolescent experience.
It represents a point when I first started buying Playboy magazine and
listening to Frank Sinatra. What
initiated my interest in the magazine were the beautiful women, however as I
moved on to reading the articles, I found the magazine to be smart, stylish and
inspiring. I also started reading other similar
magazines such as Esquire, Mens Health and National Geographic. These magazines made me feel like the world
had so much to offer, and to appreciate the sophistication in art, quality in
material goods, and travel. To
complement my sense of style, I started listening to jazz and Frank
Sinatra. Sinatra to me was the ultimate
guy to look up to. He dressed nice, was cool and collective, women loved him,
and his music was classy.
A couple years ago I
read about the death of a painter named LeRoy Neiman. I was shocked when I read the news because it
wasn’t until that moment that I realized who he was. Neiman was considered the go-to artist for Playboy,
having been featured numerous times and even responsible for creating the Femlins
(the female figures on the party jokes page).
Most people will remember him for his painting in the ending of Rocky 3
(as Eye of the Tiger plays). It was sad
to hear about his death; however it was also cool to find out that he had done
so many famous paintings. In honour of
his legacy I decided to reproduce one of my favorite paintings by him, Frank
Sinatra on the cover of the Duets album.
Unfortunately I
wasn’t able to find a clear enough picture of the original, so I had to use a
picture that I found online instead.
It’s still a nice picture because I was able to look at the details and
colors carefully. I used a canvas and
paints that I bought at the dollar store.
I still feel like I’m just getting back into painting so I want to keep
my hobby on a budget. I found this
painting to be very enjoyable because I was also listening to my Frank Sinatra
collection on my ipod as I painted. Like
most paintings, I started with the background first and worked my way up to the
main figure. Everything was quick to do,
however the face and hat was where I spent most of my time. I can admit the face isn’t exactly like the
original, but I’m okay with that because I’m happy with my final result. In the
end what matters most is being satisfied with what you can paint and continuing
to get better.
LeRoy
Neiman Wiki:
Frank
Sinatra Duets:
YouTube:
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